English 12 - Research

Scholarly and Popular articles: Do you know the difference? You need to before you graduate! Most colleges and universities require students to use scholarly journals, materials written by content specialists, often containing research. They are found in academic or professional journals.

Popular articles are found in magazines and newspapers. Time and People are good examples. Articles in these publications are written by journalists and are intended for general readers.

Scholarly articles are found mostly in professional or academic journals. Titles like the Journal of Educational Psychology or Journal of Dentistry for Children are examples. Articles in these publications are written by experts, people with degrees in the field of study. Often these journals are peer-reviewed, meaning a group of content specialists in the field (peers) reviewed the articles prior to publication to verify the authenticity of the work.

You will be expected to be able to tell the difference between popular and scholarly sources for your annotated bibliography. You should also be able to describe what assumptions can be made about the quality of information, the target audience and the purpose of the article based on whether it is from a popular or scholarly article. See the video below and the annotated bibliography page for more information!

Academic OneFile is a large collection of full-text periodicals covering many research topics. In addition to 9,000 academic journals, Academic OneFile also includes the full-text of major newspapers -- back to 1995 -- as well as hundreds of podcasts, video and reference content. Provided by the Library of Michigan @ mel.org.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context focuses on providing information on both sides of the issue, news gathered from television, radio, and print news sources as well as reference books and academic journals. See the podcast below for instructions and tips for using information in your research project! (password: trav_log)

One technique for refining your search is to use a database specific to your subject area. Below are the key subject databases available through the Michigan Electronic Library. For a complete listing check out mel.org.

• Business Insights: Essentials
• Culture Grams
• ERIC (Educational Resources Information Clearinghouse)
• Health and Wellness Resource Center
• LegalTrac

Another option for subject specific databases is to visit NMC for databases focusing on everything from how humans impact the environment (GreenFile) to how the human mind develops (Psychology Collection). Check out their journal list and take an ID to the library for guest access to databases. And ask for help!